L'Hotel de Sunza Hamamatsu

... tugging me towards family members, asking me to sit with them, even offering my beers or sips of sake (which they were dutifully serving for their elders). Recently, me being interviewed on television has gotten me even more publicity in this small village, and I'm still not really sure what the effects will be in the end. All I can tell right now is that they really, really like me, and they really, really like me standing next to them. Not much need be said. They are simply cooler ...

... was a substitute, and instead marveling at how large our team was, I was taken aback that they hadn't told me this before. Rubbing his hands together, the gym teacher at Tomiyama told me with a big grin: "Taiketsu!"

Taiketsu means show-down. There was one other person vying for the spot of "anchor", or, last runner in the relay-race.

****.

That Wednesday, having no previous training, I met in the smallest village of Japan (aka Tomiyama), in the rain and cold ...

... back into that calmness of familiarity. But does the fish really know what's outside the deep, dark blue of his home until he hops out for a peek, or gets caught by a hook? I'm sure I've swallowed the bait, hook and all by now. But I think the less I've struggled to get free of this feeling of awkwardness, the easier it's become to adjust to it.

Oh and on a side-note: I've managed to make my very first, solo-sushi this evening. Freakin' delicious!

... here. I really wanted to hike up the mountain but apparently hiking season is
only in July and August since it can get really cold up the mountain. We took a limited express train from Shinjuku all way to Otsuki and then took a local train to Kawaguchi. The trains were not as nice or fast as the Shinkansen but the trip wasn't too long. The local trains were really old trains. The trains had only two or three cars ...

... pay more than I should. I tried several types of bandages, but none really felt like they were sticking. After a long day, which included a run, some exercise, work, and not having enough sleep the night before, I decided to just give it a go.

When I arrived, I already had my bandage on underneath. It needed to cover an area roughly the size of one pectoral (or boob). It wasn't very busy (it doesn't get busy except for when it's senior's discount-day ...

... rarity in Japan I suppose, and did my best on a busted up foot that I've been nursing for two weeks (while on this topic, I recommend to all foreigners in Japan to immediately ask for 'wide' fits when buying new runners; TWO WEEKS...).

Although it definitely was as bad an experience as I describe it, I think that's what gets people hooked: bragging rights. It's like Robin Williams' stint on how the Scots came up with ...

... deducted for every ball you put in the wrong basket. The thing is, two teams go at the same time on different poles, and at the end, they count out how many you put in yours, and how many you put in the wrong basket (which is a point for the other team). We were really good at scoring for the other team, and, well, they just sucked at giving us points. We liked to think of ourselves as the best team of Givers.

Of course, no Sports Day is complete without ...

... everything they could in their power to determine whose girlfriend Yoshimi was, and whether she was Japanese or not. We kept playing her as the Chinese-American.

We had no idea what was coming when a little 8 or 9 year-old girl came tugging at our sleeves that we had to see something. Running up the hill came about twenty or so totally inebriated young fellows, huffing and puffing a chant to give them the final energy required to carry their shrine (and their yellow-topped ...

... good views of the city, just as the sun was setting. There were plenty of shops to browse around as well, and of course I had a wander through Chinatown in the evening, and caught a glimpse of the Marine Tower...so yeah, I managed to fit a lot in. The next morning, I slowly worked my way south on the futsu trains to Hamamatsu, home to the lovely Yumi who I`d not seen for 18 months. She greeted me at the ticket gates and it was great to see her again after such a long time ...

... 10 mins, my legs were asleep. I tried to ignore it, not wanting to bother the praying, but I wasn't successful. The pain (and the worry of the blood never returning to my legs) made me shift to a cross-legged position. I asked Michiyo about it and she said "everyone's legs were asleep. It hurts to sit like that for a long time. We just ignore it." Michiyo's mom and another elderly lady could handle it and I wimp out after 10 mins. I'm such a wuss. I'm attributing this position to ...